Debris removing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A device for separating debris, such as wrappers, bottle-caps, cans and the like, from quantities of sand, comprises a rotating drum-sieve with an axis of rotation inclined at an angle to the horizontal so that one end is higher than the other. The drum is supported by peripheral bearings which permit access to central openings at each end. Sand, containing debris is collected and delivered into the opening at the higher end. As the drum rotates, sand passes through the sieve while debris is engaged and lifted by projections on the inner surface. As the projections approach their highest point during rotation of the drum, the debris falls onto an inclined collecting chute which is supported independently of the drum, extending downwardly and outwardly through the opening at the lower end. The chute acts as a passage for carrying debris out of the drum into a collecting receptacle.

United States Patent 1 List [ Jan. 22, 1974 DEBRIS REMOVING APPARATUS[76] Inventor: Robert A. List, 33 Coachlamp Ln.,

Darien, Conn. 06820 22 Filed: Aug. 14, 1972 211 Appl.No.: 280,721

[52] US. Cl 171/129, 209/247, 209/294 [51]. Int. Cl B07b 1/22 [58} Fieldof Search 209/86, 74, 284, 293, 294,

Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles Assistant Examiner-Gene A. ChurchAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Howard S. Reiter [57] ABSTRACT A device forseparating debris, such as wrappers, bottle-caps, cans and the like,from quantities of sand, comprises a rotating drum-sieve with an axis ofrotation inclined at an angle to the horizontal so that one end ishigher than the other. The drum is supported by peripheral bearingswhich permit access to central openings at each end. Sand, containingdebris is collected and delivered into the opening at the higher end. Asthe drum rotates, sand passes through the sieve while debris is engagedand lifted by projections on the inner surface. As-the projectionsapproach their highest point during rotation of the drum, the debrisfalls onto an inclined collecting chute which is supported independentlyof the drum, extending downwardly and outwardly through the opening atthe lower end. The chute acts as a passage for carrying debris out ofthe drum into a collecting receptacle.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEB JAN 2 219M v sum 1 0r 3 PATENTEI]JAN 2 2 974 sum 2 0f 3 PATENIEB JAN 2 2 W4 SHEET 3 BF 3 'IDEIBRISREMOVING APPARATUS INTRODUCTION The need to remove debris, such as cans,bottles, bottle caps, candy wrappers and the like, from quantities ofsand such as at public beaches, is wellknown. Generally, this task hasbeen performed manually with rakes and screens at considerable cost intime and money. At present, some systems employ tractors dragging heavyand inefficient sled-like sieves. Mechanical devices previouslysuggested for this purpose have employed vacuum and blower devices whichare cumbersome to use and difficult to maintain and operate. Others haverequired considerable amounts of motive power and sacrifices in removaleffectiveness.

In the farming industry, harvesting machines for separating grain forexample, have employed blowers in combination with rotating drums forsifting and threshing purposes.

However, the Prior Art does not disclose assemblies for simply andeffectively separating debris from large quantities of beach sandwithout aid of vacuums, blowers and similar complex operating parts.

OBJECTS AND FEATURES Accordingly, it is an object of this inventiontoprovide a simple, easily operated and maintained assembly for separatingdebris from quantities of sand.

. A further object is to provide such an assembly which may be movedconveniently across an expanse of sand to perform a continuousseparating operation.

Still another object is to provide such an assembly which is relativelyeasy and inexpensive to construct.

A feature of the invention is the use of a rotating hollow drum having asieve-like outer surface permitting sand to pass through, and alsohaving internal projections which lift debris and then drop it onto adebris collecting surface as the'drum rotates.

Another feature of the invention involves mounting the rotating drum onan axis inclined at an angle to the horizontal with one end higher thanthe other so that sand entering at one end tends to move toward theother end.

These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention willbe more clearly described and distinctly pointed out in the followingspecification and claims when considered with the accompanying drawings,as follows:

DISCLOSURE AND DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorialrepresentation of a'self-propelled vehicle embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, partially cut-away pictorial view of the vehicleof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plane partial detailed view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial detailed view taken in the same plane asFIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a further partial detailed view of a section of a rotatingdrum taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Now, referring more specifically to the drawings, it can be seen in FIG.1 that the illustrated embodiment of this invention comprises generallya chassis 10 which is mounted on propulsion wheels 12A and steeringwheels 12B in a well known manner so that it may be moved readily acrossthe surface of a sand mixture to be cleaned, such as a beach forexample. The steering wheels are controlled from a steering center 10Aas in commercially available vehicles.

One end of the chassis is designated as the front for mounting of agathering means indicated in the drawings by reference numeral 14. Thegathering means comprises a rotatable drum 16 with helical sweeperblades 18 arranged in spaced-apart relation on the outer surface. Theforward most portion of the drum rotates forwardly 'and downwardly inresponse to a motor 26 of any well known type, so that the blades 18engage sand at the head of the chassis and sweep it rearwardly towardthe chassis.

Immediately behind the drum 16 is the lower end 20 of an endless loopconveyor belt 22 which is inclined upwardly and rearwardly toward theupper end 24.

Both the drum 16 and the conveyor 22 may be powered conveniently by amotor 26 through belts 28 and 30 coupled as shown in the drawing or inany convenient manner.

A trap member 32 co-operates with the drum 16 and with the lower end 20of conveyor 22 to assure that sand swept rearwardly by the blades 18 istrapped against the blades and the drum until it is lifted and depositedonto the conveyor belt together with any debris it may'contain.

In this manner, the sand-debris mixture is gathered onto the conveyor 22and carried to the upper end 24, where as the conveyor turns downwardly,the mixture is dropped off into the mixture inlet opening 34 of theseparating drum 36.

An inlet chute 38 is positioned at the upper end 24 of conveyor 22 toreceive and guide the sand into drum 36 as it falls from the conveyor.

The drum is supported on peripheral bearings 40, 42 which permit freeaccess to the interior of the drum respectively through the unobstructedcentral inlet opening 34 at the elevated end and through outlet opening44 at the relatively low end of the drum. Peripheral bearings, whichhave no physical central axle are well known and readily available.

In order to rotate the drum on the bearings, a belt drive pulley 46 ismounted concentrically with peripheral bearing 40 and is coupled tomotor 26 via a belt 48 in a convenient manner.

During rotation, the sand mixture within the drum is tumbled and brokenup, while the inclination of the drum axis tends to shift the sandmixture slowly downward toward the relatively lower end.

The peripheral surface 50 of the drum is formed of sieve-like material,for example, woven screen of perforated metal, with openings sized topass sand particles but not larger elements such as debris articles androcks. Within the drum, extending inwardly generally toward the center,one or preferably more series of axially spaced apart projections 52 aremounted on the internal periphery. Spacing between adjacent projectionsmay be selected to readily trap ordinary debris articles such asbottle-caps while readily passing sand particles. Alternatively, solidfins or webs may replace the spaced-apart projections, the purpose ofthese elements being to lift and drop the sand-debris mixture, withminimum energy requirements.

As the drum rotates, the tumbling action breaks up packed sand clumpsand the like and sifts the sand out through the sieve 50 where it mayfall back to the ground surface. At the same time, debris articles arecaught by projections 52 and are carried toward the high point of drumrotation until they fall away again toward the low part of the druminterior.

Separation of debris from the sand is achieved by passage means such ascollection chutes 54 and 56 which are supported within the drum, butindependent of its rotation, by a support beam 58 which is mounted tothe chassis in a convenient manner as at bracket 60. Debris which fallsfrom the projections 52 near the high point of drum rotation will landon the chutes 54, 56 rather than falling back to the bottom of the drum.The chutes are inclined at relatively the same or a greater inclinationthan the axis of drum 36 so that debris on the chute surface will slidedownwardly until it falls from the lowest edge. The function of thesetwo separate chutes will be explained in the following paragraph.

In the illustrated embodiment, drum 36 is divided into two interiorsections by a central divider 62 which has a central opening 64 throughwhich chute 54 extends to function as a means for transferring debrisfrom the higher side to the lower side of the divider. Chute 56 collectsdebris from within the lower section of the drum 36 and acts as anoutlet in carrying debris outside to a collector means such asreceptacle 66.

The use of two drum sections and a transfer chute between them in thismanner, affords better distribution of sand over the sifting surface andalso provides more effective removal of sand particles from debrisbecause of the added lifting and dropping movements.

Collection receptacles 66 may be of any convenient design and size tofit under the discharge edge of chute 56. Preferably, it will be readilyremovable for emptying and repalcement. It is also possible to constructa receptacle of sieve-like material to further facilitate the separationof clinging sand particles from stored debris.

The above detailed description of this embodiment of the invention nowmay be summarized briefly as follows: the vehicle 10 contains a sourceof motivepower 26 and is provided with propulsion wheels or tracks 12aand steering wheels 12b which are controlled from a steering center 10a.A rotary sweeper 14 at the front of the vehicle pushes sand and debrisonto a conveyor 22 which lifts and drops the mixture into an opening 34at the elevated end of a rotating drum 36 as vehicle moves forward. Thesurface 50 of the drum is a sieve which sifts the sand, allowing it topass through and fall back to ground. Debris articles trapped within thedrum be cause they are too large to pass through the sieve are lifted byprojections 52 on the inner-periphery of the drum as it rotates. Whenthey approach the highest point of rotation the articles fall from theprojections and eventually land on the surface of inclined dischargechute 56 which allows the debris to slide downwardly out of the druminto collection receptacle 66.

Now, referring specifically to the various elements mentioned above, itshould be noted with respect to the sweeper 14, that adjustment means inthe form of hydraulic piston 68 are provided for controlling theelevation of the sweeper blades with respect to ground level. The pistonis secured to the chassis 10 and also to the axle 70 of the sweeper sothat any convenient well known control means may be used to move theaxle upwardly of downwardly relative to ground level.

The drum 36 as shown in FIG. 4 to be octagonal in cross-section withgenerally planar sides. This permits each side to be constructed as aseparate planar section to be interlocked with adjacent sections andopposite end structures in any convenient manner. In this construction,one section accordingly may be hinged to an adjacent section so that itmay be opened as a door for convenient access to the interior of thedrum. It is considered apparent that various cross-sectional shapes,including circular, and other constructions may be used withoutdeparting from the scope of this invention. Similarly, although the drum36 is shown as a unit extending from bearing 40 to bearing 42 with acentral divider 62, it should be understood that two or more separateunits might be used and joined together with abutting ends defining thecentral divider. Such construction might offer desirable advantages interms of ease of maintenance and assembly. Alternatively, the drum maybe formed without any internal divider.

Transfer debris passage chute 54 and outlet passage chute 56 are shownfixedly mounted to chassis l0 independently of drum 36. Gravity isrelied on to displace debris along the chutes toward the lower ends.However, it is understood that the chutes also may be vibratory or othermechanical drive and conveyor means, entirely within the scope of thisinvention. The surface of these passage means may be smooth, textured,solid, perforated or a combination of these, as desired, to obtainmaximum results in movement of debris and in further separating clingingparticles of sand.

Sieve surface 50 allows sand to pass through naturally as drum 36rotates so that it may merely fall to the ground at random. lt desired,a distribution means such as plate 72 shown in FIG. 3, may be providedbeneath the drum to cause sand to fall in a given pattern. This means,too may be either fixedly mounted or subject to positive mechanicaldrive means, for example, vibratory reciprocal or endless loop.

Internal projections 52 within drum 36 are shown as generally straight,radially extending fingers, arranged side-by-side relationship in theaxial direction. The function of these projections is to engage and liftand then release debris while drum 36 rotates. Accordingly, it will beobvious to persons skilled in the art that other embodiments of theseprojections are possible within the scope of the invention. For example,individual projections or a series of them coupled together as a set,may be removably mounted to permit the use of different projectionshapes specifically suited to the particular type of debris encounteredin certain environments. Modified hooks, knobs, and angled catchers maybe used.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the objects mentioned above havebeen achieved; however, it should be emphasized that the particularembodiments of the invention which are shown and described herein areintended to be merely illustrative, and not restrictive, of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for removing debris from amixture of sand and the like,comprising: a generally tubular hollow casing rotating about a centralaxis inclined at an angle to the horizontal;

said casing having a mixture inlet at the front end thereof and a debrisoutlet at the rear end thereof, said mixture inlet being elevatedrelative to said debris outlet;

said casing further having a generally sieve-like outer wall for passingsand or the like therethrough while said casing and a debris dischargeend extending through said debris outlet to the exterior of said casing;

said debris passage means having a generally upwardly facing surface atsaid debris receiving end for receiving debris which is lifted and thendropped away by said inwardly extending projections within said casing;

gathering means, located in front of and lower than said debris inlet tosaid casing, positioned to engage a sand mixture surface and displacesaid mixture rearwardly;

conveyor means having alower end and an upper end, conveying a sandmixture upwardly therebetween;

the said lower end of said conveyor means being positioned to receivethe sand mixture displeaced by said gathering means, and the said upperend being positioned to deposit the sand mixture into the said mixtureinlet of said casing;

wheel means movably supporting said apparatus upon a surface;

an annular interior divider within said casing between the said frontend and the said rear end thereof, said divider having a central openingtherethrough; and debris transfer means disposed within said casing andsupported independently thereof, having a receiving end on the forwardside of said annular divider and a discharge end on the rearward side ofsaid annular divider for transferring debris which is lifted and droppedby said inwardly extending projections, from one side of said annulardivider to the other.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim I wherein the position of saidgathering means is adjustable above and below a surface engaged by saidwheel means.

4 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said casingcomprises a forward half and a rearward half coupled together at saidannular divider.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further including adistribution plate'supported in relatively fixed position beneath saidcasing collecting sand and the like passing through the outer wall ofsaid casing for discharge onto a surface beneath said apparatus

1. Apparatus for removing debris from amixture of sand and the like,comprising: a generally tubular hollow casing rotating about a centralaxis inclined at an angle to the horizontal; said casing having amixture inlet at the front end thereof and a debris outlet at the rearend thereof, said mixture inlet being elevated relative to said debrisoutlet; said casing further having a generally sieve-like outer wall forpassing sand or the like therethrough while preventing passage ofdebris; a plurality of inwardly extending projections within said casingfor engaging and lifting debris upwardly until it drops away uponrotation of said casing; debris passage means supported independently ofsaid casing, having a debris receiving end within said casing and adebris discharge end extending through said debris outlet to theexterior of said casing; said debris passage means having a generallyupwardly facing surface at said debris receiving end for receivingdebris which is lifted and then dropped away by said inwardly extendingprojections within said casing; gathering means, located in front of andlower than said debris inlet to said casing, positioned to engage a sandmixture surface and displace said mixture rearwardly; conveyor meanshaving alower end and an upper end, conveying a sand mixture upwardlytherebetween; the said lower end of said conveyor means being positionedto receive the sand mixture displeaced by said gathering means, and thesaid upper end being positioned to deposit the sand mixture into thesaid mixture inlet of said casing; wheel means movably supporting saidapparatus upon a surface; an annular interior divider within said casingbetween the said Front end and the said rear end thereof, said dividerhaving a central opening therethrough; and debris transfer meansdisposed within said casing and supported independently thereof, havinga receiving end on the forward side of said annular divider and adischarge end on the rearward side of said annular divider fortransferring debris which is lifted and dropped by said inwardlyextending projections, from one side of said annular divider to theother.
 2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the positionof said gathering means is adjustable above and below a surface engagedby said wheel means.
 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid casing comprises a forward half and a rearward half coupledtogether at said annular divider.
 4. An apparatus in accordance withclaim 1 further including a distribution plate supported in relativelyfixed position beneath said casing collecting sand and the like passingthrough the outer wall of said casing for discharge onto a surfacebeneath said apparatus.